For the past 14 years, I’ve lived without a thyroid. When you no longer have this small but powerful gland, you become acutely aware of how sensitive the body is to anything that affects hormones, metabolism, skin, hair, and energy.
For most of those years, I also lived in homes with well water.
Recently, I moved into a home with city water, and within just a few weeks, I noticed something that genuinely surprised me:
My hair felt softer instead of brittle.
My skin was no longer painfully dry.
The breakage that had plagued my hair for years began to slow.
My scalp felt calmer, less irritated, less reactive.
This was despite the fact that our well water had a purification system. Even with filtration, my hair had become so fragile that it literally broke off. The change after moving was immediate enough that it made me stop and ask a question I had never considered before:
Could my water have been quietly creating symptoms that looked like thyroid imbalance?
What surprised me most is that I never once suspected it.
For years, I assumed the dryness, brittleness, and hair damage were signs that my thyroid medication dose was slightly off. I spent time, money, and energy adjusting prescriptions, fine-tuning supplements, changing hair and skin products, and analyzing labs — all with the belief that something in my thyroid protocol needed correcting.
It never occurred to me that the issue might not be my dose at all.
Now I’m realizing that what looked like a hormonal problem may have been an environmental one.
And now, after the move, I’m watching something shift.
Right now, I’m simply grateful to see my skin and hair thriving instead of struggling.
This feels less like fixing something that was broken and more like removing something that was quietly interfering.
How Well Water Can Create Thyroid-Like Symptoms
Many symptoms associated with thyroid imbalance — dry skin, brittle hair, thinning, fatigue, inflammation, and poor texture — can also be influenced by the chemistry of the water we bathe in and drink every day.
Hard Water & Mineral Overload
Well water often contains elevated levels of calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese. While these minerals are essential internally, excess exposure externally can coat the hair shaft, disrupt the skin barrier, block moisture absorption, and lead to brittleness, dullness, and breakage. These effects closely resemble hypothyroid-related changes in hair and skin.
Iron & Manganese
High iron and manganese can oxidize on the scalp and hair, making strands stiff, dry, and prone to snapping. Over time, this creates structural weakness and scalp irritation that mimics hormonal hair loss patterns.
Sulfur & Hydrogen Sulfide
Sulfur compounds common in some well systems can irritate skin, disrupt the scalp microbiome, increase inflammation, and worsen dryness — again overlapping with symptoms often blamed on thyroid imbalance.
Radon in Well Water
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can dissolve into groundwater. When water is used for bathing or washing, radon can be released into indoor air and inhaled. Long-term exposure increases oxidative stress and cancer risk and places strain on immune and endocrine systems. While radon does not cause thyroid disease, radiation exposure can burden the same regulatory systems involved in hormonal balance, making it critical to test well water for radon.
Why This Matters More When You Have Thyroid Issues
The thyroid influences:
• Keratin production (hair, skin, nails)
• Oil gland activity
• Cellular hydration
• Circulation
• Mitochondrial energy
When thyroid function is impaired — or absent, as in my case — the body becomes more sensitive to environmental stressors. What might be mildly irritating for one person can become systemically disruptive for someone whose hormonal regulation is already working harder to maintain balance.
In other words, your water may not cause thyroid disease — but it can absolutely amplify symptoms that feel hormonal.
How to Test Your Well Water
If you use well water, comprehensive testing is one of the most powerful steps you can take. At minimum, test for:
• Hardness (calcium & magnesium)
• Iron and manganese
• pH
• Sulfur / hydrogen sulfide
• Heavy metals
• Radon (in both water and indoor air)
Your county health department, state environmental lab, or EPA-certified private laboratories can provide reliable testing. Radon in water should be tested separately from air, and mitigation systems are available if levels are elevated.
How to Protect Your Skin, Hair, and Health If You Have Well Water
Install a True Water Softener
A purifier alone does not remove hardness minerals. Softening systems reduce calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese that coat hair and skin.
Use Shower Filtration
Your scalp absorbs water directly. Look for filters that reduce heavy metals, sediment, sulfur compounds, and chemical byproducts.
Use Chelating Hair Products Monthly
Chelating shampoos remove mineral buildup that regular shampoos cannot, restoring softness and elasticity.
Deep Condition Weekly
Mineral-coated hair struggles to absorb moisture. Deep hydration restores flexibility and reduces breakage.
Test for Radon in Water and Air
If radon is present, mitigation systems can significantly reduce long-term exposure and health risk.
A New Perspective
Living without a thyroid has taught me how profoundly our bodies respond to their environment.
Nutrition matters.
Stress matters.
Sleep matters.
And water matters.
Switching from well water to city water didn’t just change how my hair felt — it changed how I think about “symptoms.” What I once assumed was a dosing issue may have been an environmental signal all along.
Now, instead of constantly asking, “What do I need to fix?”
I’m asking, “What might I need to remove?”
Right now, my skin and hair are thriving. Softer. Stronger. More resilient. Less reactive.
And that opens a new, hopeful question:
If changing my water could create this shift…
What else in our environment quietly shapes how we feel, heal, and age?
What’s next?
Resources & References
American Academy of Dermatology – Effects of Hard Water on Skin and Hair
U.S. Geological Survey – Iron and Manganese in Drinking Water
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Hydrogen Sulfide in Drinking Water
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Private Well Water Testing
https://www.epa.gov/privatewells
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Radon in Drinking Water
World Health Organization – Radiation and Endocrine System Effects
National Institutes of Health – Thyroid Hormone, Skin & Hair Physiology
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Environmental Exposures & Hormonal Health